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Sarah Nolan: Pearce remains divisive on issue of monument

By Sarah Nolan

Guest column

Posted:
06/15/2014 01:00:00 AM MDT

Rep. Steve Pearce, in his attacks immediately following the designation of the new Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, demonstrates that he is more interested in ideological rhetoric than facts and in dividing our community than uniting it, as a true leader does.

Rep. Pearce is fond of talking about how President Obama, in acting to protect the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, should defer to the will of public officials who are elected to represent the people. Sadly, in his opposition to the new monument, Rep. Pearce could not be more opposed to the will of the people of Doña Ana County, 72 percent of whom strongly backed the designation of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, according to a January poll by Vet Voice Foundation.

Fortunately, there are other elected leaders who do represent the will of the people with their actions: New Mexico Senators Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, and Jeff Bingaman (now retired), and those who serve on the Doña Ana County Commission, Las Cruces City Council and Mesilla Town Council, which passed resolutions supporting national monument designation. These elected officials were listening, even if Mr. Pearce was not.

Mr. Pearce complains about "unilateral" action by the president against the community's wishes. However, the protection of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks was a painstaking process that took years and included much consultation between New Mexico's senators, diverse local stakeholders, and the Obama administration.

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Mr. Pearce left the majority of the community out of the discussion when he crafted his "Organ Mountains-only" legislation. Despite this, Rep. Pearce is quick to claim he is working on behalf of sportsmen, even though Doña Ana County's sportsmen have overwhelming rebuked Pearce's claim and support the president's designation of the new monument.

Not stopping there, Rep. Pearce and his surrogates continue to falsely claim that the national monument will hinder law enforcement, cause illegal immigration, and threaten our community's safety. These efforts to scare or make scapegoats out of our people about our community's "security" are divisive, insulting, and need to stop.

Pearce's claims fly in the face of reality. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said about the new national monument that "this designation will in no way limit our ability to perform our important border security mission, and in fact provides important flexibility as we work to meet this ongoing priority."

Luna County Sheriff Raymond Cobos also contradicts Pearce, saying "I am satisfied that the president's (designation of the monument) will not hamper the ability of the Luna County Sheriff's Department to enforce applicable New Mexico statutes within the area covered by the proclamation."

So we must ask, where is Rep. Pearce getting his information? He says there wasn't enough support for the new national monument, and yet nearly three-quarters of his constituents were supportive of it. He says this designation will threaten border security, and yet law enforcement personnel themselves dispute those claims.

Rather than continue to belabor his opposition to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and spread misinformation, Rep. Pearce's constituents will be better served if he focused his efforts moving forward on embracing the new monument as a tremendous asset for Doña Ana County and New Mexico.

We hope Rep. Pearce will recognize that the monument is significant to people across cultures and communities, unites our hopes for the future, strengthens the diverse social fabric of our region, and will provide economic benefits.

Only then will he be truly representing the people of Doña Ana County.

Sarah Nolan is executive director of NM Communities in Action and Faith (CAFé)